Attachment for flush tanks



Nov. s, 1945. E B, GREEN i 2,888,480

ATTACHMENT -FOR FLUSH TANKS Filed Dec. 5, 1945 .BY, i

A rfrokrvsr.

Patented Nov. 6, 1945 UNITED `STATES f PATENT OFFICE 2,388,480ATTACHMENT FOR FLUSH TANKS Edgar B. Green, Washington, D.- C.Application December 3, 1943, Serial No. 512,760

3 Claims.

This invention relates to an attachment for flush tanksand it :consistsin the constructions, arrangements and combinations herein described andclaimed. A

Considerable diiiiculty, annoyance and waste of water hasbeen'occasioned with ush tanksl of present-day constructions, due to thefact that the iloat leverquite often becomes entangled with the leversassociated with the ush valve, preventing seating of the valve entirelyor canting the valve in a manner so that it can seat only partially. Insuch cases, it becomes necessary to uncover the flush tank to releasethe fioat lever and the levers of the float valve or to actuate theoperating handle, successively, to effect disengagement of the float andvalve levers.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a simpleattachment for shunting or guiding the iloat lever in a direction awayfrom the levers and linkage of a ush valve, thus insuring proper freeseating of the valve.

More specifically, it is the object of the invention to provide anelongated body member adapted to be suspended from the overflow pipe ofa flush tank, extending at an angle outwardly therefrom and in adownward direction and positioned so that upon downward movement of theiioat lever the latter will be shunted or directed in a lateraldirection away from the valve levers and linkage.

It is also an object of the invention to provide an extremely simplemeans for detachably mounting the shunt member within the tank enablingits ready removal for repairs upon the flushing mechanism, whenrequired.

Additional objects, advantages and features of 'invention will beapparent from the following description and accompanying drawing,wherein Figure 1 is a top plan view of a iiush tank with the coverremoved, showing my attachment installed.

Figure 2 is a cross section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1. l

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the attachment.

Figure 4 is a vertical section on the line 4 4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the attaching hanger of the device.

There is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 a flush tank I ll ofconventional construction including an outlet II, a. valve seat l2 andoverflow pipe I3. Upon the overflow pipe I3, a bracket I4 is positionedhaving an arm I5, apertured at its outer end for reciprocably mounting astem I6 of a ball valve Il, the latter being cooperable with thevalvefseat I2 for controlling flow of water therethrough. The upper endof the stem I6 is connected to a link I3, which in turn is connected toa lever I9l pivotally mounted upon the tank, as at 20. n An operatinghandle 2l is connected to the lever I9` for actuating the parts forraisingthe ball valve from its seat. The tank also includes a waterinlet Valve 22 controlled by a float valve 23, the latter being spaced asubstantial distance from the inlet by means, of a rod 24 which extends`quite close to the stem IB and overflow pipe I3 as indicated in dottedlines in Figure 1.

In view of the fact that the rod 24 is of considerable length, lateralmovements of the rod 24 is occasioned with the rise and fall of thefloat valve 23 due to turbulence created in the tank by flushing andlling of the tank, and quite often the rod 24 will become entangled withoperating levers and links associated with the ball valve. Therefore, inorder to avoid contact with any parts of the valve mechanism, I providea shunt device.25.

The shunt device consists of an elongated cylindrical .body 26,preferably of wood, of a length less than the height of the overflowpipe I3. One end of the body 26 is provided with a tapered side portion2'l which may be slightly arcuate, if desired, so as to snugly engagethe periphery of the overilow pipe, as will be presently explained. Thebody member 26 is provided with a transverse opening 28 positionedinwardly of the tapered side 2l and below the upper end thereof, asclearly shown in Figure 3.

Attention is now invited to Figures 4 and 5 of the drawing, wherein ahanger device 29 is shown. The hanger is formed from a single strand ofwire, bent intermediate its length to form a bight portion 30, the legs3l thereof extending in parallel relation a suitable distance, and arethen bent at right angles to the legs 3l, as at 32, and

again bent downwardly to present legs 33 parallel to the legs 3| butspaced therefrom. The legs 33 are now bent at right angles to the legs3l, presenting lugs 34 lying parallel to the bight portion 30 andstopping short of each other a distance. The wire being resilient, thelegs 33 may be readily sprung apart so that the body 25 may be presentedtherebetween, and with the lugs 34 aligned with the opening 28, the lugswill readily enter the opening upon release of the legs 33. With thehanger thus engaged upon the body member, the legs 3| and bight 30 willbe spaced a distance outwardly of the inclined face 21 and will readilypermit the upper end of the overow pipe I3 to be inserted therebetween,as

' clearly shown in Figure 2. The distance between the legs 3l and 33 isonly slightly greater than the thickness of the wall of the overflowpipe and therefore the inclined face 21 will rest snugly against theouter periphery of the overflow pipe; Thus the body 25 will be suspendedin a downward direction at an angle with respect to the overow pipe. Theinclined face 21 should be such that when the body 25 is engaged uponthe overow pipe the inclination of the body with respect to the pipewill permit the rod 24 to pass smoothly upon the body to a point wherefull opening of the inlet valve 22 will be permitted.

In use, when the tank is ilushed, the oat valve 23 will move downwardlywith the lowering depth of water in the tank, the rod 24 movingtherewith, and since the shunt device 25 is located in the path of therod 24, the latter will be moved in a lateral direction away from theball valve and associated links and levers, thus avoiding anypossibility of entanglement between the float rod 24 and parts of thevalve.

While I have shown and specifically described the invention, this is byway of illustration only, and I consider as my own all suchmodifications in construction as fairly fall within the scope of theappended claims.

I claim:

1. An attachment for flush tanks consisting of an elongated body havingmeans at one end for suspension from the upper end of the overflow pipeof the flush tank, said body extending downwardly at an inclination withrespect to said overflow pipe and in the path of downward movement ofthe rod of a float valve of the ilush tank, whereby to effect lateralmovement of said rod upon lowering movement of said float valve.

2. An attachment for ush tanks consisting of an elongated body memberhaving an inclined face at one end thereof, a hanger pivotally mountedupon the body inwardly of the inclined face, said hanger having aportion constructed and adapted to engage within the upper end of anoverflow pipe and draw the inclined face into contact with a portion ofthe periphery of the overiiow pipe whereby to present the body member atan angle to the pipe and in the path of movement of a rod of a floatvalve of a flush tank.

3. The combination of a ush tank having an outlet, an overflow pipe anda valve-,controlled inlet, a valve for the outlet including a stemreciprocally mounted parallel to the overflow pipe, a. oat having a rodoperatively connected to the valve of the inlet and movable in verticaldirections in close proximity to said overow pipe and said stem, a shuntmeans mounted on said overflow pipe extended downwardly at an angle andinterposed beneath said rod to effect lateral movement thereof uponlowering movement of said iioat.

EDGAR B. GREEN.

